A Job Interview! by Anne Wrobetz

I never thought there would be a more exciting call I received from Game Stop than when they phoned to let me know I could trade in my old games for five dollars apiece. As of today, I have been proven wrong. I have an interview this Friday, an actual interview!

In a college town, life grinds to a screeching halt from May to mid-August. Except for the occasional trip to the ice cream parlor, the economy stagnates. The students spending the summer propagate like mosquitoes, sucking up not blood but the few jobs that do exist. All of this combines to create one miserable effect: I am depressingly unemployed.

For the past two weeks, ever since I moved into my apartment, I’ve been hitting the pavement searching for jobs. At first I was optimistic: I’m a hard worker, I have awesome references, and my last job (on campus in the dining halls) was a piece of cake to get. Quite literally; after my interview, the manager treated me to a free meal including dessert. This optimism quickly dissolved—I regressed from applying to such high-class locales as research labs and museums to dingy convenience stores and Taco Bell. As far as I’m concerned, Game Stop is a shining beacon that falls in the former category.

I thought that balancing a job with school was difficult, but at least I was gainfully employed during the school year. Now that I’m living on my own, buying my own food and paying rent, I actually need a job, which is why it’s so maddening not to have one. If I don’t get a job, it means the end of my independence. I’ll be moving back home to spend another summer bored out of my skull just waiting for school to start. It’s understandable that this phone call just made my week!

It’s always challenging trying to find a job, especially in an economy as slow as the current one. But perseverance is really key. I probably felled a whole grove of redwoods in my unquenchable thirst for applications. Was it worth it? I suppose I’ll find out on Friday. For now, I’m going online to learn everything the Internet has to say about video games. Overkill? Maybe, but I’m just too excited not to. How long until Friday?